Hook, Line, and Sinker
by HarpLeaf
Summary: Jet Swanson is a hunter who was forced into retirement due to sickness. He recovers, but his life is thrown into a downward spiral by the government of Vale. Now a teacher at Beacon by day and by night a revolutionary, Jet continues on his path until he runs into team RWBY. Watching them struggle as he once did, Jet becomes a mentor-and risks undoing everything he's worked for. OC.
1. Chapter 1

**A/N: Boys and girls of all ages, I'm back! With a new story. For this, I wanted to explore a few things. One: making a character that wasn't the same age as team RWBY. Instead, they are (or at least, will be) about the same age as many of the adults in the film (i.e. Taiyang, Raven, Qrow, Glynda, etc). I think it would be fun to see more of some mentorship action, an from a badass mentor too. Two: How can someone reasonable by led into baking bad choices for good reasons, but not be anywhere close to a monster?**

 **Oh the fun we will have. Anyway, I hope that you enjoy, and please consider leaving some feedback.**

For the umpteenth time, Jet Swanson had to swat away several sheets of paper that threatened to cover the windshield and obscure his view of the narrow winding dirt road. The four-by-four swerved a little before regaining control, which didn't endear the driver to his passengers any.

"Oum-damn it Swanson, didn't you do combat driving when you were training to be a hunter?" complained Dill, peeling himself off the window. "Because I don't see the point if you can't drive in a straight line."

"It's hard when someone's thesis is obscuring my view," said Jet, shooting a pointed look at the girl seated next to him. "Maybe if Olive had converted the physical copies to her scroll like you told her she should…"

"Sorry," apologized the girl, pushing up her circular glasses and shuffling together her looseleaf notes. "I would have, I just didn't know I would be able to come on this trip until the eleventh hour."

"You didn't come until you knew Dill was," quipped Jet. "I'm not sayin', I'm just sayin'."

"I'm not quite sure what you're insinuating," said Olive coolly, but a slight dusting of pink on her cheeks betrayed her tone of voice.

"Nothing Olive." One tanned hand swept back through his short, curly black hair as he chuckled to himself.

The vehicle clipped another pothole, jolting the two that had not formerly been hunters. Dill bounced his head off the ceiling, and Olive once more had to pick up the binders and pages that had slid into the footwell.

"Oum Jet," Dill grumbled as he rubbed the top of his head. "Just let Leo drive. Maybe he'll be able to look over the top of the steering wheel."

"Sorry bro. You don't want that." Leo, the other guy in the back, shook his head sending blonde tresses swirling around his head.

"Why not? It can't be any worse."

Dill drew his eyebrow together as Jet burst out cackling, beating on the steering wheel with a free hand. His crazed laughter soon infected Leo, and even Dill found himself chuckling though he didn't understand the joke. "What?" he asked finally, as the merriment died down somewhat.

"Well-" began Leo, but he was immediately cut off by Jet.

"No no, let me tell it, let me tell it," he interrupted. "Okay, so this was about two years after we had graduated Beacon. I'd done some specific classes with regards to law enforcement, and we had spent most of the previous year working with the sheriffs and rangers in settlements around Vale. Anyway, because of that experience me and Leo got subcontracted by the Vale Police Department to help bust up some crime rings at that time that were smuggling Grimm into the city."

"They were smuggling grimm into Vale?" asked Olive incredulously, eyes widening behind the large wire frames. "Wouldn't that be incredibly dangerous?"

"But it's incredibly lucrative," nodded Jet. "Underground fighting was a huge thing at that time. They'd fight dogs, roosters, and other different animals. They'd even kidnap faunus and force them to fight in the rings, often to the death."

"Oum that's awful," murmured Olive.

Dill couldn't help but agree. "That's pretty fucked up."

Jet shrugged. "There were enough sick people that would place money on the fights, so the profits were through the roof. Some of these places were walking out with almost half a million lien in profit every month and all of it tax free. But people always want bigger and better, so grimm was the next step. Anyway, the police were being about a successful as they usually are, and with the presence of grimm hunters were wanted. So, we arrived."

"Okay, that's cool as hell, but what does this have to do with Leo's driving?" asked Dill.

"I'm getting there. You ever hear of story building?" said Jet, scratching at his thick black beard before continuing. "Well, right at the start they wanted us to head an undercover sting operation to gather more information. They provided us with covers as some shady dudes who had too much money for their own good. Part of that was they gave us a JX Noir to be very careful with."

"No frickin way," exhaled Dill. "A Noir? That's one of the most powerful luxury cars on the market. Can't it hit one sixty-five or something?"

"Dude, that's standard. This thing came tricked out with turbos and all the bells and whistles. It was such a sweet ride bro." Leo grinned fondly at the memory, putting his hands behind his head and leaning back.

"Yeah, yeah it was," agreed Jet. "It could hit over one ninety for sure, maybe over two hundred all while we reclined in heated leather seats. It was a part of our cover, otherwise I'm sure they wouldn't have put in so much expense. The thing was donated to them by a wealthy patron, but it must have cost around two hundred K all said and done."

Dill whistled appreciatively and even Olive, who had never much cared for talk of vehicles, raised one solitary eyebrow at such a high sum of money. It went unspoken, but it was clear the desperation that must have been present to bring such resources to bear.

"Anyway, this is about- what was it Leo, three weeks? A bit less?"

"A bit more I think, dude."

"Really? Anyway, it was about three weeks into us working on this. We'd gathered a lot of intel and saved a few lives during a bust, so we were in pretty good standing with the VPD," Jet explained.

"Of course we were brah. That's the only reason they didn't throw us off the case," grinned Leo.

"I know right?"

Dill could hardly contain himself any further, throwing his hands up and bursting back into the conversation. "What the hell happened then?"

"Settle down. I swear I'm getting there. Anyway, we were leaving a site and Leo was driving. We were heading down H-14 in the middle of Vale when he decided to test exactly how fast that damn car could go," growled Jet, pointing a damning finger towards the back seat.

"It was relevant dude," argued Leo.

"Relevant?" the driver screeched, voice rising in pitch. "Relevant to what, exactly?"

"What if we had to get away my dude? I want to have ridden that car mackin' before. I want to feel it."

Jet looked almost like he exploded. "No! Not in the middle of the night on an active freeway! That's not the place!"

"Dude, chill out. You know it was pretty sweet cruisin'." Leo grinned and made a wave motion with his hand which only seemed to antagonize Jet further.

"For all of thirty seconds!"

The other two could hardly help themselves, eyes swiveling back and forth as they watched the verbal dispute; Olive more and more nervously while Dill leaned in enraptured by the story unfolding. Leo, on the other hand just wore a manic grin and drove his hand like a car, only serving to infuriate Jet further.

Olive raised one hand tentatively to interrupt, as if she was back in one of her college classes. "Emm, it seems like there's a lot of emotion riding on this, uhhh, maybe we should… leave it for another time?"

Jet just banged his head against the steering wheel several times as the small tinny horn rang out into the surrounding pines. "I'm not really mad at him, Olive, I'm just… I'm just mad at him." He groaned loudly as Dill and Leo chuckled, while Olive still looked uncertain. "It was such a cool car man! It was so cool… and I hardly got to drive it!"

"They didn't let you drive it anymore because you were speeding?" asked Dill incredulously.

"Well, I'm sure they wouldn't have been happy with that, but no. No that's not the reason. It's because he absolutely totaled the car."

"He what?" gasped Dill in horror, eyes growing wide at the destruction of such a vehicle. An involuntary shudder ran through his body as he envisioned so many tons of metal and composite perfection being trashed.

"Were you okay?" asked Olive.

"Yeah, yeah. But you've got to understand what happened. So that idiot floored it and took off, and we went from seventy to one ninety in about ten seconds. We were absolutely _flying._ Well, all would've been fine if this hadn't been right where the highway ends and splits into four overpasses leading to different roads like a bunch of arcing spaghetti bridges," explained Jet.

Dill raised one eyebrow, suitably unimpressed. "What a vivid description," he deadpanned.

"You know what I'm talking about," said Jet, waving him off. "Anyway, you're supposed to go something like fifty over those sections, and we were still going a hundred and fifty even with him standing on the brakes. There's absolutely no way he was going to make that turn."

"Oh Oum," gasped Olive, sensing what was coming next.

"Yeah, we busted through the barrier seventy feet up or something and just sailed out into space."

Behind Jet the entire event was being acted out in sequence with sound effects. Leo's hand had become a car as is arced out into space, his mouth revving like an engine as the hand flipped over on its back and impacted the seat.

"Well, it's got a huge engine in the front, and so it nosed over and we bailed," Jet continued.

"Bailed?" enquired Dill, snapping his fingers. "Just like that? Out of a car seventy feet up and moving over a hundred miles an hour?"

"Yeah, and thank goodness we had aura because it had been a hell of a long time since we had practiced a landing strategy; probably not since the second year of Beacon. It still hurt like hell though," remarked Jet. "I broke my wrist and took a good amount of skin off my back when I skidded, and Leo fractured a few ribs and got pretty bruised up when he ran into a concrete pillar. I mean, aura can only do so much."

"Only so much?" snorted Dill. "You're alive and your injuries were minor for what you did!"

"Yeah, but we might not have even had those if we didn't screw up the landings so bad. But that's not the point. So the car is totally mangled and in pieces; it's a total write off spread all over the empty concrete lots you find under those sections. We're just sitting there nursing some injuries, wondering what on Remnant we're supposed to do now, and then ten minutes later the police show up with a couple ambulances." Jet said, a smile starting to twitch onto his face.

"I guess someone saw what happened and called it in. The paramedics take care of us first, but we're not injured too badly so the police start to ask us questions. You know, who we are, how it happened, the usual. So, there's this officer who's asking us questions, pretty out of shape, putting things down." Jet began to chuckle, the laughter welling up as he tried to suppress it. "So this chubby guy asks, 'So, does either one of you want to explain how this happened?' and he just stands there expectantly, giving us a really intense stare like a total hardass."

"So, I'm worried that we're going to get screwed over because we're currently undercover as members of the criminal underground - I mean, all of our ID and licences say so. We've even got some fake rap sheets on those ID's. It's a crappy situation because I really don't want to blow our cover."

"Why don't they let you go? Don't they know you're undercover?" Olive asked inquisitively, a puzzled expression on her face. She leaned on the center console, all thoughts of her papers forgotten.

"Only a portion of the force knew. I mean, if the cops go after us too it makes our cover that much more believable, you know?" Jet explained. "It also gives less opportunity for someone to slip up and reveal the truth to the bad guys. So, anyway, I'm thinking about what I've got to say to this guy to get out of this and then Leo speaks up and he- and he says-" At this point Jet could no longer contain his laughter as it forced its way into his speech, making him stammer and break down. "He says, 'Sorry officer, I-"

Jet broke down again, breathing heavy and trying to choke back his merriment unable to form coherent words. Olive and Dill sat there expectantly, waiting for the punchline. "Well? What was it?" busted out Dill, desperate to hear Jet calmed his breathing, struggling back in control as Leo sat calmly in the back.

"Okay, okay. He said - totally dead faced, mind you - 'Sorry officer, I was trying to intercept a Bullhead.'"

At this the three male occupants of the little SUV busted out into wild laughter while Olive just shook her head in disbelief.

"No way," gasped Dill. "There's no way you said that."

"Nah bro, I totally did," Leo chuckled, clapping Dill on the back. The inadvertent blow from the hunter caused a coughing fit from the civilian.

"Here's the best part," continued Swanson. "This dude writes it down! He writes that down and some more bull crap Leo spits out and takes it back to his sargent or whoever. So he hand it off to his superior officer, and this dude just gets redder and redder as he reads it."

"What happened to you two after that?" asked Olive amid the laughter.

"Ohh, they ran the fake ID's and arrested us on the spot. We got thrown in a holding cell pretty much immediately."

"Geez, all that effort for nothing?" Dill looked disappointed, as if such a glorious tale couldn't have such a mundane ending. "So did the cops that were in on it have to get you out?"

"Nah dude," reassured Leo. "We broke out of there."

"No way," gasped Dill, right back in the throes of the story.

"Way," grinned Jet in the mirror. "I mean, we're two hunters. Even with some minor fractures, what are the police going to do? Really though."

"Those dudes were so bent out of shape over that whole incident," said Leo.

"Yeah, the holding cell door and the car were bent out of shape," fired back Jet. "They have a little right to that."

"The car wasn't bent out of shape. It was scattered over a hundred yards."

"And the moral of the story is, that's why I'm the driver," finished Jet.

There was some more chuckling before the noise petered out. The noise of the car rumbling over the dirt surface returned to fill the vacuum, along with the tapping and scratching of Olive's fingers alternating from a sheaf of papers to the scroll that was precariously balanced on her lap.

"Need a hand?" Dill asked Olive. "I've helped with plenty of your work before."

"No, that's okay," she murmured distractedly, staring at the screen.

"Alright," he shrugged in surrender.

The car ride continued for hours, bouncing its way along the path to the discomfort of those inside. There was mostly silence, but for a little light conversation mostly from Dill expressing his excitement to be able to go camping and Leo or Jet interjecting a quick story. Eventually they pulled off into a relatively established campsite by the side of the trail and ground to a halt.

"Okay kiddos, this is where we're staying for tonight. Unpack the stuff and set up camp. We'll finish the drive to Sheone tomorrow." Jet jumped out of the door as Dill got out slowly, groaning as he stretched out his muscles. "C'mon bud! You've been sitting around for seven and a half hours. You can't be tired."

"How are you not sore and stiff?" groaned Dill. "Bouncing around in that car for so long, seated next to a man who is determined to keep his knees as wide open as possible? I had no room! I think a little stiffness is justified."

Leo's long lanky frame appeared from behind the back of the SUV where he was unloading. "Sorry dude, I just got long legs man."

"Right."

"And big balls."

"Right!" Dill threw up his hands in exasperation. "What was I thinking? And no thought for my poor gonads, right?"

"Could we not talk about your testicles please?" Jet sighed, pointing at his smirking former teammate. "You either Leo. I mean, just think of what poor Olive is having to hear right now."

"Actually, I am a medical professional. It doesn't really bother me," said Olive cooly.

"Of course. What was I thinking?" grumbled Jet. "C'mon. Let's get this place set up."

The area had been chosen carefully beforehand by Jet and Leo. There was a steep ridgeline that came up to within a few hundred yards of the campsite, limiting the directions that grimm could come from. The thick pines and deciduous trees knitting together made detection or attack by Nevermore highly improbable, and it was next to the road for a quick exit if necessary. The two civilians didn't know all that had gone into this selection; they just saw a beautiful campside and excitedly moved to set up camp.

Jet and Leo stood side by side, leaning against the vehicle as they watched the two others chatter excitedly while struggling to pitch a tent. The two were totally comfortable with each other despite looking like polar opposites. Leo was tall and lanky with long blonde hair that had been swept back in a ponytail while Jet was short and stocky with curly black hair and a beard.

"Hey Leo, thanks for agreeing to come with me man. I wasn't totally confident it would be safe enough with just me."

Leo just waved a hand dismissively. "Dude, it's nothing. I'm glad to. Besides, I had some free time in between missions and I haven't seen you in years."

Jet angled his body towards his longtime friend as he pushed the point. "No Leo, it really is something. They'd probably never get the opportunity to travel outside the kingdoms in relative safety and do stuff like camping. I mean, Dill was unbelievably excited at the opportunity. You should have seen him man."

"And Olive?"

"Trust me, she's just as excited. She's just not as confident as Dill is. You know, she likes to analyze everything and judge the risk. I mean, look at them." Olive and Dill were laughing and looking around, just enjoying exploring the surrounding area with the tent long since forgotten.

"Yeah, I know dude," smiled Leo. "It's cool. Man, it almost seems like they're overreacting."

"They're just kids," Jet said in way of explanation. "I mean, neither of them have been outside of Vale their whole life."

"Just kids?" Leo prodded Jet in the side. "When did you become such an old fart?"

"Leo, I'm more than ten years older than either of them. You are too."

"Yeah, what are you my dude, thirty four?"

"Thirty five," snapped Jet. "Olive is twenty four and Jet is twenty three. And before you start with the old man jokes, may I remind you you're two years older than me?"

"Mhmm," he grinned. "But I'm not the one calling them kids."

"Leo-"

"You be the dad and I'll be, like, the cool uncle."

"You're such a child," griped Jet, ignoring Leo's satisfied grin.

"Whatever you say dad."

Jet shoved Leo who had to hop on one foot to keep his balance, laughing all the while. "Now I remember why I didn't miss you," the shorter one growled. "Now get your rear in gear and teach them to set up a tent before it gets dark, will ya?"

"Anything you say dad." Leo darted off before Jet could respond, leaving an exasperated teammate in his wake to finish unloading the car.

Somehow, through some small miracle, Leo finally coached the two through setting up the tent and starting a fire as the light began to fade from the sky. The soft orange and lavender hues danced in the sky as if the light was celebrating the day it had been a part of with a final fanfare. Shadows fled farther and farther from the setting ball of fire, running and swelling to meet the embrace of darkness.

But in the darkness brilliant spots of light began to appear, swelling in the sky until they decorated the heavens. The stars didn't cast any light on those that viewed it from below; the only source of the illumination was the flickering fire that lit the trees orange hues.

"Wow," breathed Dill. "I've never seen so many stars in my life."

"It's beautiful," murmured Olive, equally in awe. Jet felt something stir in his chest just watching the two admire their surroundings. "I'm amazed how much we miss due to light pollution. Had I not seen photos I would have never have even known how many there are."

"What she said. She said it better," nodded Dill.

Jet smiled and added another log to the fire, causing a shower of sparks. "It's a view, that's for sure."

"So," jutted in Leo from where he was scrubbing the dinner pots. "How on Remnant did you two end up meeting this guy?"

Olive was the first to reply. "Well, I was conducting a medical study on the long term effects of dust exposure on the human and Faunus. One of the many problems that it causes is the tumors and growths in various tissues and organs."

"Oum. Should I be worried dudette?" asked Leo only half jokingly.

"Likely not," Olive reassured. "This condition is almost exclusively found within the dust mining community with a few outliers. However, those cases don't have aura. There are very few recorded cases of dust poisoning on someone with aura, and we don't have much medical information on those cases. That's about when we got referenced Jet and I ended up working with him a lot," gestured the girl. "That's how I came to know him."

"So what about you?" Leo shifted towards Dill, waiting for an answer.

"Same as her," he replied easily.

"So you were researching with her?"

"Well, no," Dill admitted. "She's the medical genius conducting the research. I double majored in data processing and computer science, so basically I make really nice spreadsheets and charts that shows all her data in an effective manner."

"But how did you meet Jet then dude?"

"Well, I don't spend _all_ of my time in front of a screen," he explained. "I met Jet at some point and through the was a really cool guy despite what he was going through, so I spent as much time as I could with him."

"Really dude?" Leo squinted at Dill, wondering if he was telling the truth.

"What, you think I can't have a bleeding heart just because I like to have a little fun? Just because I'm a little sarcastic?"

"Let me take this one," cut in Jet. "Yes. That's exactly what we think."

"Shut your Oum-damned mouth," growled Dill with no real heat behind it generating some muted laughter. The laughter quickly died away as he spoke again, voice soft and with utter sincerity. "Well, also the reality was… I really didn't think you were going to make it Swanson. And it wouldn't have sat right with me if I didn't try and make his last months as good as I could."

"And you certainly kept my spirits up," said Jet in appreciation. "You kept me going."

Olive shifted from where she sat next to Dill, bumping her shoulder into his side to encourage the young man as he just nodded humbly and accepted the compliment in silence. The two grinned at each other and after an awkward second before Olive decided to stay leaned in and rest her head on his shoulder.

"Key me bro," said Leo suddenly, hopping to his feet.

"It's unlocked," Jet said with a confused look.

"Good," grinned Leo as he dashed back to the vehicle, throwing open the rear hatch. "Because it's about time for…" There was a pause as he kept digging. "Something I managed to keep hidden from you dude." The other three looked on in curiosity as the hunter returned with something small in his hands. "Time for some music!"

"Hell no," protested Jet as he realized what was about to happen. "Don't even-"

"Ta-daaa!" Leo whipped out a ukulele and strummed some enthusiastic chords, long nimble fingers dancing over the strings.

"Oum damn it," groaned Jet, placing his head in both hands. "I thought I destroyed that thing."

"Dude, I have lein for _days_ ," grinned Leo. "I just got a new one my guy. So, how about a love song?"

The hunters hands began rapidly moving as he began to sing. "Ooooooohh, when I was a younger man, down in the deserts of Vacuo, I met a young rose who bloomed by the shores of the Erimor dunes, and danced to the sway of a scorpion tune…"

As the folk song progressed even Dill and Olive joined in on the chorus, clapping along during the verses. After enough poking and prodding, eventually the three got Jet to join and for the next half hour or so a wide variety of silly and serious songs rang out through the trees to the delight of most of the assembly. Eventually however, exhaustion soon began to set in and Dill and Olive began to get ready to go to sleep.

"Damn, it's only… ten o'clock and I'm already tired?" yawned Dill, checking his scroll. "That doesn't seem right. Do you know how late I stay awake working for that taskmaster?"

"Maybe if you got all your work done on time," teased Olive right back, barely hiding a yawn of her own.

"Alright." Jet clapped his hands together to get their attention, fighting off sleep himself. "Come on you two lovebirds. We've still got a long day tomorrow, so you two should get to bed."

"Fine, _dad_ ," said Dill in mock exasperation.

Jet shot Leo an accusatory glance, as if to blame him for Dill calling him a dad. Leo just responded with a shrug and a shake of the head, mouthing _if the shoe fits…_ which only earned him another glare.

"Okay. Dill, you're going to split the two man tent with Olive, and me and Leo are going to rotate through the one man. Sound good?" Jet explained. He received a variety of foggy agreement from the two as they went off to get ready for bed.

The process of getting ready and saying good nights took a few minutes, but eventually Leo and Jet were left by themselves. The former teammates warmed themselves by the fire as old habits began to sink in.

"Hmmm...hmmm hmm hmmmm…" hummed Leo, lightly picking at the strings of his instrument in no particular order. "Hmm…"

Jet unsheathed the hunting knife he had by his side, running his finger over the blade to check for sharpness and notches. Finding it to his satisfaction, he shuffled around until he found a stick to whittle and sat back down to begin.

The two sat without saying anything for a while, just listening to the world around them. The fire hissed and popped as it slowly collapsed in on itself. A soft tune came from the instrument that blended into the rustling of the trees, and Jet's knife kept an irregular rhythm as he shaped the wood in his hand.

"Whatcha making?" Leo ventured.

"I dunno. The way this stick is shaped I was thinking maybe a creep. Legs here, head, tail…" Jet gestured to each area with his knife in turn.

"Yeah, I could see it bro," Leo nodded in appreciation. "You know, you're scary good at wood carving my dude."

"I blame you mostly."

"Oh really?"

"Really," responded Jet. "I got into it to have something to do to distract me from the horrible noise you make on that thing you call an instrument."

"Oh really my dude?"

"Really."

"Really?!"

"Shh. Not to loud." Jet gestured at the tent twenty meters away.

"Really?" Leo yelled in a stage whisper, cocking his head at a ridiculous angle. "Well, we better throw down real quiet like because otherwise the kids'll hear mom and dad fighting."

"But if I've been established as the dad does that make you the wife?" said Jet, struggling not to laugh.

"Oh yeah my dude. When was I ever not? I'd be a real sexy lady."

At this Jet almost lost his composure, allowing a snort of laughter before he clamped back down. "No way Leo. You're too tall. No average guy would date you because they'd be in your armpit."

"Well then I'd be a model. With looks like these, I have options."

Jet shook with silent laughter as he managed his next words. "I am not having this conversation with you again Leo."

"Because you know I'd win."

"Leo."

"Fine my dude," the blonde relented with a satisfied smile. "You got it. Speaking of the kids though, tell me more about them."

"Well, you know this trip is about repaying them for what they did."

"I know. You told me about that," Leo agreed. "And I can see Olive. She's a real sweet dudette, and from what I heard she discovered the cure for your sickness. But Dill?"

Jet nodded, understanding Leo's question and forming his answer. "Well, let me tell you how dust poisoning works first. In the average civilian it ends up operating like a more aggressive cancer as there are growths that shut down important organs by overwhelming them. But in people with aura it's a lot more insidious because it turns the natural protection against you. Aura fights off the tumors, but the buildup and growths drains the aura faster and faster until eventually it can't regenerate.

"The body then goes, 'Oh shit! No aura? We know we need aura to fight this off,' because the body's natural defenses aren't doing it, you know? So in a desperate attempt to get energy to get the aura going things like muscular dystrophy start occurring and eventually even the organs begin to be dissolved."

"Damn dude," said Leo softly.

"Yeah. That's the gist of it anyway; Olive is the real expert. So, you know what I was like before I went in? Five foot ten, two hundred and five, two hundred and ten pounds?"

"Yeah dude. You were a big dude. Not necessarily a tall one, but built like a brick house."

"Well, at the low point right before Olive found the cure, I was down to a hundred pounds."

"Holy shit dude," breathed Leo in shock. "I never would have guessed looking at you now. But that's… damn dude. I didn't know how bad it was."

"Yeah, well, I've done a lot of work to build back up," smiled Jet. "But anyway, at that time I was on a metric ton of meds day and night just to try and slow down the process of my body destroying itself. I eventually had to be kept in the hospital bedridden, and that's when Dill came into the picture. I was up at all hours of the night because of the meds screwing my sleep schedule up, and so I was often awake while he was there doing his data processing thing.

"Well, one night the nurse on duty had screwed up the amount of painkiller to give me. I had actually managed to doze off at a reasonable time, but I woke up on fire. You know, the meds had worn off way too early. Of all the times I've been injured this one was the most Oum-awful because I could _feel_ my body eating itself and disintegrating. Just sensory overload. I was slapping the call button for a nurse, but I guess the guy who had given me the bum dosage had just fucked off because he thought I would just be sleeping through the rest of his shift."

"Oum-damn it, really?" growled Leo in anger. "What a… what a…" Leo struggled for a word foul enough and just decided to give up on it. His hands clenched and unclenched, and he let out a heavy long breath. "If I had my hands on him…"

"Hey, he got what he deserved. He was fired immediately and got convicted for criminal negligence," said Jet. "He's doing time."

"That's not all he deserved my dude," said Leo in frustration.

"It's okay man. Just leave it," soothed Jet. "It's in the past now. But apparently to hear Dill tell it he was getting ready to leave, but in exiting the little cluster of offices you have to pass near the patient care area. He saw the nurse station lighting up and hear me yelling so he came over. The kid called in some other medical staff that were in the building and stayed with me as they figured out what was going on. He would just talk to me, tell me stories, give me something to focus on while they got me sorted out and sedated again.

"After that, he would come into my room at night with his scroll and sheafs of notes to do whatever he does. He'd work while I slept but when I was awake he'd just talk to me. Normal shit. Complain about his workload, tell me about something he'd done over the weekend, tell me about his one brother who was becoming a hunter, and ask about my life. That's why he was joking about staying up so late earlier, because by talking to me he doubled the time it took to get anything done. I think he kept me sane those months I could do nothing but lay around drugged up."

"Wow," Leo muttered for lack of much else to say. "Sounds like I owe both of them a debt for keeping you around bro."

Jet shrugged. "Yeah. Dill is surprisingly good with people. He adapts to the situation. He can laugh and joke with us, but if the situation calls for it he's the most thoughtful dude you've ever met. He'll be good for Olive. She's a sweet gal, but she works herself to death."

"Mmm." Leo sat there and just drank in what he had learned. "Well damn dude. I was happy to do this trip for you, but now I'm glad I can do it for them. They really do deserve it."

"I've been replaced," sighed Jet dramatically, joking to lighten the mood. "The horror."

"Shove it," Leo chuckled. "You're my number one baby."

"And don't you forget it," Jet shot back. "Hey Leo, I've got a proposal for you."

"Shoot."

"I'll take first watch if you double up in the middle of the night, then I'll take till dawn."

"You sure you're not too tired after driving today?" asked Leo.

"Nah. Besides, I want to work some more on this little guy." Jet held up the stick that was starting to resemble a Grimm and shook it for emphasis. "I'll get better rest if I sleep for a solid five hours instead of two and a half hour chunks anyway."

"Alright bro. If you insist. A question for you though, how're you gonna deal with Grimm dude? I mean, have you got a new weapon since you don't have your dust sleeves?"

Jet ran his hand up and down his biceps almost unconsciously. One of the first operations to have been performed was the removal of his tattoos. They had been done a long time ago when Jet was younger and a member of the gangs of Vacuo. As he moved up the gang's ladder, he had been rewarded with tattoos that had been infused with various ground up dust crystals. This, combined with an unlocked aura, allowed Jet some elemental control.

Even after he left the gangs to become a hunter, Jet had kept getting the dust in the tattoos refreshed as it had become part of his fighting style. This, of course, was the source of his overexposure to dust and the cause of his sickness. The doctors had immediately surgically removed all traces of the dust to stop the exposure, leaving Jet with nothing but intricate scars that mimicked the tattoos he once had.

"Well, the best I could do was a pump action shotgun," said Jet, standing to go and pull the weapon out of the vehicle.

"That's all dude? But you're a hunter! How could you not get anything better?" asked Leo incredulously.

"I'm not a hunter anymore," grimaced Jet. "Medically I no longer qualify. I still get all the injury and retirement benefits, but I'm not allowed to advertise or work as a hunter. So, I'm pretty much a civilian. And they don't let civilians buy shit. I was almost going to have to take an over-under or a side-by-side because that's all the council has deemed civvies can get."

"What the hell dude?" complained Leo. "That's bogus."

"Yeah, I only got the pump because of my history as a hunter. And I had to pay a hefty tax on it anyway. I can't even buy dust ammunition so all I've got is solid shot and slugs."

"Well damn dude," Leo said. "That totally sucks. At least let me see the one you got."

Jet slammed the car door behind him and handed the weapon to Leo. The gun was average looking, blacked out save for several exposed metal parts and areas where the coating had been scratched to reveal the gunmetal underneath.

"Hmm. Nice weight to it. Kinda heavy. Good ballance, sights are… what you'd expect. It's got a bead on the end of the barrel." Leo turned it over a few more times, working the pump back and forth. "I mean, it's nice, but you could get better. Have you seen some of the newer Atlesian crap?"

"Ahh, but this is the old Atlesian Industries Model 15, back when the tech wasn't as advanced," explained Jet. "Super simple, accurate, and reliable, but most importantly you can slam-fire it."

"Oh damn," said Leo with a new appreciation. "Yeah, those new ones can't do that. And solid shot will deal with Grimm. You've just got to be a little more accurate. How many shells does it hold?"

"Five plus one."

"That's alright."

"But here's the best part. The reason it's so heavy is because this production run by Atlesian Industries made use of the scrap metal off of retired Bullheads, particularly their armor plating. The steel is thick and hella tough. I can swing that thing like a club, block a sword stroke, and it'll still shoot straight." Jet mimed a few combat moves to emphasize what the shotgun could do.

"You took your time choosing this one didn't you?" asked Leo, finally seeing what his former teammate saw in the gun.

"Hey, if this is all they'll give me I better make a good selection," smiled Jet. "I've practiced with it enough to be comfortable. I can take on any minor grimm and probably a lot of the majors too."

"Okay my dude. I trust you on that, and I'll leave you to it. See you in two and a half, and not a minute sooner," yawned Leo. "Just let me pull out my collapsible spear that has a built in railgun to sleep with. It was real hard to come by, because they don't let hunters-"

"I'm going to let the grimm eat you first," threatened Jet. "I won't even do anything. I'm just going to watch."

"Sweet bro. I look forward to it. Well, I guess you're set for watch." Leo started to lumber off towards the tent, but paused and seemed to hesitate before turning back. He reached out and pulled his long time friend into a crushing bearhug. "I'm really glad you're still with us Swanny," he whispered. "Really glad."

"Me too," chuckled Jet softly, returning the embrace. "Night Leo."

"Night dude." With that Leo released him and went back to his tent, the buzz of a zipper marking the door opening and closing.

 _Clickclickclickclickclick._ With inhuman speed the former hunter dug five slug cartridges out of his pocket and slotted them into the magazine. _Ka-chunk._ Jet pumped the slide once to put a round in the chamber with a heavy metallic sound and slotted an extra shell into the magazine, assuring the weapon was ready to fire and loaded to maximum capacity. Surveying the campsite he sat back down by the embers of the former fire and continued to whittle away.

The night passed without a single incident, which was appreciated but not unexpected. The most exciting moment was when Jet woke up Leo for his watch. The hunter rubbed his eyes sleepily, double checking the time before slowly rising. "This is gonna suck," he grumbled, going out to take his turn.

Jet rolled up in the blankets, happily stealing the warmth from his teammate and falling into a deep sleep.

Packing up the camp went fairly well too, save for a tired Leo sniping at Dill, who had no problems firing back. "Here I am," complained Leo, poking at the bacon sizzling in the pan from four feet away with his spear. "Cooking breakfast for this dude. Stayed up half the night on guard making sure he's safe."

"Have you considered that you're tired because you're old?" called Dill from where he was rolling up his sleeping bag. "Maybe you should take a nap."

"No problem dude. I'll just leave you to the Ursai next time. I don't have a problem my guy." Leo rubbed at his eyes and yawned. "Actually a nap sounds pretty good. Dudette! Olive. You're getting bumped. I'm taking the front seat."

"When did I get involved?" asked Olive in surprise.

"Take it up with your boyfriend my dude. It's his fault."

"Actually, we're not uhh, together," said Olive.

"In everything except name," Leo noted sourly. "Maybe Dill should grow a pair and ask you. Or vice versa. I don't care dudes. I've been hanging with you people for two days and I can't take the tension. Oum knows how Swanny stands it."

Jet stepped up in the awkward silence that followed as Leo continued to poke at the food with his weapon. "Let's leave Leo be and finish packing up. He's… not a morning person."

"I can tell." Dill rolled his eyes, loading things back into the SUV.

"I can hear you dude!" The awkward spell lifted however, and the morning continued more smoothly.

Fully loaded with gear and four people, the SUV set off. Leo shifted around in the passenger seat for a little while before falling fast asleep. Olive and Dill started working in the back, the latter having finally pestered the former into letting him help.

Jet just sipped from the black instant coffee that he had made with hot water from the campfire. It wasn't very good, but the caffeine would help keep him alert and attentive. He rattled along the road for an hour or two, but eventually weariness started to overcome him. Jet started to jerk himself awake, his eyes fluttering open and shut. He tried to fight it but after a few minutes pulled over to the side of the road and stopped the vehicle.

"Leo, I'm too tired. Either someone else takes the wheel or the seven hour drive becomes a nine hour one because I need some more rest."

"Don't worry dude, I got you." Leo yawned and stretched, throwing open the door and walking around the vehicle to Jet's side. Jet just hopped the center console and slid into the vacated seat, shifting to try and find a comfortable sleeping position.

"Really?" Came the complaint from the backseat, an unhappy Dill sitting with his arms crossed. "After that story yesterday we're letting the maniac drive?"

"I've settled down since those years in my youth," said Leo. "You'll probably be okay."

"I don't like probably. Maybe I could drive?" he begged, clasping his hands and pulling his best pleading expression. "Please? I reeeeaaallly want to dad. Pleeaaaassee?"

"Dill, you're named after a pickle. And we don't trust pickles in the driver's seat my dude."

"You got me Leo. You sure got me," said Dill, trying not to laugh. Nobody else had that problem however, and between the hunters guffaws and Olive's giggling Dill soon joined in. "Alright. Important hunter stuff. I got it guys. You won't get any more out of me."

Jet rested his head against the window, but as the SUV rattled off he had to take off his sweater and use it as an impromptu pillow. As he got used to the irregular bumps and sways, he dozed off into sleep.

"What the hell…"

It was this shocked exclamation along with the sudden application of the brakes that jolted Jet back awake. He rubbed at one eye, beginning to survey the outside.

The cause of the stoppage was immediately obvious. There was another SUV about fifty feet in front of them, rolled on its side and blocking their path. A girl was huddled by one of the broken windows of the car, making a pitiful figure with her knees drawn in and head down. "Shit," whispered Leo, leaving the car running as he threw the door open. "You two stay here."

Beside him Jet was doing much the same, both hunters reaching instinctively for their weapons. Leo left his spear in the collapsed form while Jet's could hardly be hidden as they started to move towards the girl who they could now hear crying softly. Their advance was only halted as another car door swung open and shut.

"Let me come too," asked Olive, pulling her long dark hair back. "If they're in bad shape I can help them."

Glances were exchanged between the two hunters as they weighed out the risks and benefits as Leo silently indicated his deferral.

"Okay. Dill!" Jet barked loudly as the other civilian jumped out to listen. "You wanted to drive, you have your chance. Get in and be ready. We may have to go quick. Leo, get the medical kit out of the back. Olive, you're with me. Let's go!"

The change from Jet's usual easygoing attitude was so dramatic that the civilians jumped to do what was asked without a word. Leo was more used to it, Jet having formerly been his team leader, but still hustled to get the job done.

"Okay sweetie, you're going to be okay. Just tell me what happened, okay?" Olive began tending to the girl in front of her. The girl looked to be in her early teens, about thirteen or fourteen, with bobbed brown hair with blonde highlights and startlingly pink eyes. "What's your name?"

"Cora," the girl responded tearfully.

Jet surveyed the area, his nerves set on edge. It wasn't the thought of the crash, or what happened to the girl, or even the potential for drawing grimm because of the negativity. No, something else was just not right to him but he couldn't place a finger on it. But why?

It took less than thirty seconds for Jet to see it, but by that time it was already too late.

The first thing he noticed was that the girl had no adults with her. There were no dead bodies in or around the rolled vehicle, and the girl was clearly too young to have been taking herself. So if they weren't dead, did they just leave her? Not likely.

Secondly he saw the vehicle was very intact for having supposedly rolled, and there were no impact or slide marks on it or the ground around it. Almost like it had been placed on its side…

"Leo!" he yelled frantically at his friend who had just dug the medical kit out. "We've been set up! Catch and go!"

Leo immediately threw the stuff back in the trunk, slammed the door, and darted around the SUV. "Dill! In reverse! Be ready to go! Got you Jet!"

"Jet, what's going - eeep!" Olive let out a squeal as Jet picked her up bodily and flung her all forty feet to the waiting Leo. Leo caught her and bundled her into the car unceremoniously, slamming the door shut.

"Go Dill! Reverse!" shouted Leo.

"But-" The protestations from the driver came with an almost synchronized shout from the two hunters.

"Just hit it!"

Leo hung off the side of the SUV by the roof rack with his foot on the runner, and Dill had covered the distance to hang off the grill on the front. As gravel kicked up from under all four tires and the vehicle began to move, Jet saw the other SUV emerge from the treeline and block their path, leaving them pinned beneath the two vehicles. "Stop!" Jet yelled, using the change in momentum from Dill hitting the brakes to catapult himself over the roof and directly next to the opposing car. "Leo! I'll take it and move it! You guard ours!"

Jet didn't wait to see his former teammates response; he know that Leo understood and would carry out what he wanted. One would take control of the enemy vehicle and move it out of the way, and the other would defend their own vehicle so it was ready to go when the time came.

Rising out of a crouch, Jet pulled the trigger on his shotgun and held it down as he worked the pump back and forth at full speed. The first shot shattered the driver side window, impacting a very surprised bandit. His aura absorbed the first, second, and third slugs, but the fourth one shattered his aura as the driver struggled to duck away or pull out a weapon. The fifth shell tore straight through the man's cheekbone, throwing his head back as a large smattering of brain and skull coated the other side of the car.

Jet threw the door open and hauled out the drivers corpse, but before he could hop in and drive the vehicle he was struck from behind. The blow was hard enough that when he hit the open drivers door it almost tore the portal off its hinges and left it hanging at a drunken angle.

Spinning into his attacker, Jet whipped the butt of the shotgun blindly around with two hands so hard that the other bandit was catapulted into the SUV. What followed was the burly man grabbing the bandit by the scruff of the neck and proceeding to slam the drivers side door on his head until the door came off its hinges from the strain.

A battle cry gave away the third attacker. Jet sidestepped the stab and then fired the shotgun into the face of the off-balance assailant. The man's aura kept his face from being hollowed out, but a point blank twelve gage slug has consequences. Yellowish white chunks of teeth and red blood burst from his mouth as he was knocked back.

Jet slammed the pump back once more only to hear a click as the firing pin fell down on ammunition that wasn't there. Knowing he needed to work fast, he flipped the gun so he was holding it by the barrel and brought the stock down on the bandit's neck like he was chopping firewood. The bandit slumped down to his hands and knees, only to have Jet wind up and kick him in the side of the head while simultaneously reloading.

Most hunters and huntresses loved to focus on big, powerful, elegant strikes, and rapid combos. It was a romanticized form of fighting that perhaps could be kept against the grimm as it was undoubtedly the more effective method.

But growing up in the gangs of Vacuo Jet had learned a different philosophy; a philosophy that dealt with people. Fighting wasn't about winning. It was about hurting the other guy so badly he would stop fighting, hurting him worse than he hurt you. As such you used whatever you could. Every dirty trick, every piece of your surroundings, every one of your opponents weaknesses, and you showed no mercy.

It was fast, brutal, and efficient. Within twenty seconds of the first shot being fired he had three bodies around him. Two were dead, and the third was in no condition to do anything but receive medical care for the next week.

A quick look over to Leo showed he had his situation well in hand. The blonde made it something of an art form as he fought, spear flashing in elegant sweeps and circles in a deadly dance. Despite his more stylistic fighting, two bandits lay unconscious before him while he held the bait girl - Cora - by her collar.

The girl growled and thrashed, doing everything she could to break free, but against Leo there was nothing she could do.

"Hey Jet, what should I do with this little viper?" Leo grimaced as the viper in question tried to swipe at him with a knife which he batted away easily.

"Knock her out and leave her. We've gotta get moving," ordered Jet, already climbing back into the cab of the SUV and starting its engine. "Take over from Dill. As soon as I move thi-"

Jet whipped his head down and threw himself sideways with a speed that made him a tumbling blur. He came to his feet, shotgun in hand and pointed at a figure that had appeared out of what seemed like thin air. A long red blade had sliced through the windshield, the front A pillar, the drivers side seat, and ended up carving a path back to the rear quarter panel in an unimaginably powerful strike. If Jet had continued to drive the vehicle he most certainly would have had his head separated from his body.

Wrenching her blade free, the attacker turned towards Jet in a ready stance. She had a mass of black hair that flowed from the back of her mask, which was like a large stylized version of what the White Fang used. She wore a red and black dress with red gauntlets, and thigh high black boots.

"Leo!" Jet called out from the standoff. "It's Raven!"

"Damn it dude," Leo said. Jet heard a small whine and then a metallic _thunk_ as Leo's built in railgun fired into Cora to send her spinning away, unconscious and with aura depleted. "Sorry kid. Alright Jet, let's go."

"Jet and Leo…" mused Raven, voice muffled beneath her mask. "I admit, I half expected to see you again. You two gave my tribe a lot of trouble a few years back."

"Nothing personal. It was our job. You and your tribe were killing people, stealing all their stuff, and that doesn't sit well with the law," Jet explained as Leo fanned out so they could attack her from two directions simultaneously.

"You don't seem to be adverse to killing people yourself," countered Raven, callously flipping over the corpse of the driver with her foot.

"But I'm on the right side of the law. I'm not killing innocent people. And they weren't innocent."

"You have an interesting view on murder," said the bandit leader cooly, shifting to keep both Jet and Leo in view. "But I would advise against attacking me. It's not a fight you will win."

"It's two against one. You may be good, but you're not that good. I know Leo got to spar with you at least once and held up pretty well. As did I, actually."

"A lot has changed since then, Jet. Perhaps most vitally, we are not facing each other in a one on one tournament fight."

The smugness in her voice caused both hunters to cast their eyes wider than the fight in front of them and take in the landscape around them. Out of the trees came another dozen bandits who hurried to take positions surrounding the hunters.

"Well played," nodded Jet. "But it's still not an even fight. If you think twelve of your goons are worth more than five minutes of my time, you're outside your mind."

"Not quite." One could almost hear the smile in Raven's voice. "Vernal, would you come up here please?"

A young woman separated herself from the pack, sashaying up to stand next to Raven. She had very short cut brown hair and blue eyes, and a smirk that tugged at her lips. On hand was planted on her hip where two crescent shaped blades hung. Though she couldn't have been older than seventeen or eighteen she exuded confidence.

"This is my apprentice Vernall. I personally have taken great care to train her and she has done well."

"So you're merely prolonging the time it takes for me to get through them and finish you off with some better trained cannon fodder?"

"Jet, let's put all the cards on the table, shall we? I'll still respect Leo as a very formidable foe; I have no doubt you still are too. But please don't insult me by pretending you're still in your prime. You no doubt had a run in with dust poisoning, which is why you are using a shotgun instead of the elemental attacks. Your t-shirt doesn't hide the scars where your tattoos used to be either. No matter how much you've trained, you will not be as proficient with that weapon as you were with dust. There just hasn't been enough time. Furthermore, you aren't just two hunters. You also have to be concerned about the two friends you have tucked away in your SUV. With such an overwhelming numbers advantage someone is going to slip through and get to them. Your position is not tenable." Raven had pulled her mask off and smiled at Jet, as if humoring a small child.

"True," conceded Jet. "You got me there. But, I propose to you that if harm befalls either of them you lose that edge. There will be nothing holding us back, and you will lose everyone you have here today. You already know that though. If you thought you could kill us and get away with acceptable losses you would have done it already, but you lost that chance when you failed to take my head off earlier."

Raven's smile faltered and she frowned slightly, but didn't challenge the notion as Jet continued. "Don't try and bluff me out Raven. We both know we have, as they say, a Vacuan standoff. So why don't we stop all this verbal posturing and get down to negotiating?"

Jet flipped his shotgun onto his shoulder and stuck out his hand for Raven to shake. There was silence for a moment in which Raven considered the offer. In that small eternity Jet was acutely aware of the rustling of people and weapons, ready at any moment for a trap to spring. Raven finally relaxed a little and nodded to him, taking her hand off her weapon hilt to shake his.

"That takes a lot of strength to be able to demand a compromise when you're so outnumbered. I respect you both for that, Jet. For that I will negotiate with you." Raven stared him down, but Jet could see the truth in what she said and took it sincerely. From Raven that was a high compliment.

"Sweet. Anything you want to add Leo?" Jet asked.

"Nah my dude," sighed Leo, taking his spear out of striking position and leaning on it instead. "You're the leader for a reason my guy. I think this is the best thing to do too."

"Alright," said Jet, glad to have that affirmation from his teammate. "Let's get down to business then."

 **A/N: When you put all your points into strength and charisma... If you were disappointed there was no huge climactic battle, well, tough. That's just how the cards fall. But there'll be plenty of fight later on. I promise. PROMISE. If only I could upload more often... #collegelife.**

 **RIP. Anyway, love you if you made it this far. Feel free to leave thoughts, comments, concerns, and anything else. See you on the flip side!**


	2. Chapter 2

**A/N: I've really taken a shine to this story idea… damn, I wish I could write faster. Anyway, I hope you enjoy this second installment!**

"We will take the SUV," Raven demanded, as she and Jet faced down amid the crowd of bandits. "I think that's only fair considering the damage to our vehicle."

"The damage that you caused," Jet pointed out. "Besides, that'll just make it a believable bait car in the future."

"We already have a bait car. What I want is an undamaged vehicle that we can use to box in our victims. The damaged one can be used for spare parts to keep the others running."

The car that Raven had carved up like a Sunday ham sat sadly in the background, drooping slightly with its rear left suspension coil sliced in half. "So use the damaged one as bait and this one you've so carefully placed on its side as the one you use to box in the victims. It's perfectly capable of that," Jet argued back. "We keep our vehicle."

"No," the bandit leader said, holding up one hand. "You are less than a one hour drive from the nearest village. From there a message can be sent to the nearest Ranger outpost, and a Bullhead with rangers and hunters could be scrambled and back at this location in under an hour again. That gives me two hours at best to pack up and relocate."

"You're telling me you can't deal with a handful of hunters and police? I don't believe it." Jet crossed his arms, refusing to back down.

"It's not about my capability of defeating them. I don't want to make the life of my tribe more difficult. I doubt that the police would be stupid enough to mount an attack, but would instead relay my family's position and bring in a force that would be able to give us trouble. I will not risk that. We keep the SUV."

"And my word we wouldn't tell them isn't good enough?" Jet asked half-heartedly.

"It is not. You and Leo have worked for them long enough to have a duty to report such things. I will not back down on this," Raven warned seriously, loosening her sword in its sheath for effect.

"Out of curiosity, what's the distance to this nearest town then?" The former hunter waved Leo down, the blonde having picked up his spear once Raven grasped at her sword.

"The settlement is Amin-Kara. It is roughly fifty-five miles along this road and a little over thirty if you were to head there as the crow flies, though that is through dense forest and rough terrain. I know you and Leo could run that distance in little more than a couple hours, but with the two civilians to take care of I don't doubt that will stretch out into two days or more."

"And if we call you in to the authorities in two days?"

Raven nodded in appreciation of his candor. "Two days is more than enough for us to relocate. I do not worry about you reporting this incident then."

Jet took a moment to consider this. It made sense what Raven said, and her request wasn't unreasonable. Two days of hiking down an established trail was much riskier than taking the SUV, but it was manageable. The Grimm density in this area was particularly low. Plus if they were willing to take a little extra risk, that two days could be cut much shorter…

"I'll be willing to give you the vehicle, but you would then need to sacrifice taking most of the supplies. We'll need those," Jet bartered.

"That is acceptable, though I will monitor how much you take. One does not need an excess of supplies to travel for two days," Raven agreed. "Do we have a deal?"

"As long as you guarantee the safety of our charges."

"Agreed."

"Then we have a deal," Jet nodded. "Let's get to divvying up the supplies then. Leo!"

"Yes boss?" the blonde said jokingly.

Jet dragged his teammate down into a hug, holding his mouth close to Leo's ear. "I'll pack the bags and collect supplies. You watch Dill and Olive. If one of the bandits try to grab them, kill the bastard. A hostage loses us our advantage."

"Got it dude." The two hunters separated and Leo motioned to the inside of the SUV. "Come one out you two."

The doors opened and Dill and Olive stepped out. The two were visibly shaken, with wide eyes and pale skin. Dill was doing his best to remain stoic despite this, but Olive was visibly trembling; the poor girl practically hung off of her friend as she took in the dead bodies and bandits surrounding them.

"Don't worry dudes," said Leo softly. "We're going to be alright. Me and Jet got you. Now, you two stick real close to me, you hear?"

"Yes," whispered Olive as she practically glued herself to his side. In a gesture of protection Dill took up a position between her and the rest of the bandits, but remained within arms reach of Leo.

Jet, seeing that they were as safe as they could be, finally threw open the trunk. Out came two backpacks which were swiftly loaded up with the two tents, basic cooking equipment, several freeze dried meals, thermal clothes, basic medical supplies, a map, water, and plenty of ammunition for him and Leo's weapons.

"I've got everything we need," Jet said. "I'd ask you to look through it to confirm it's not too much, but the way your pet has been sitting over my shoulder the whole time I assume it's acceptable."

Vernal took a step back with a frown, her hands twitching towards her weapons as if she wanted to attack him for that insult. "Vernal, don't let him get under your skin," Raven reprimanded.

"Yes ma'am." Vernal backed off a step or two but continued to glare at the former hunter. Jet just shrugged and took it all in stride.

"If there are no-"

A sudden scuffle cut off Jet's words. He turned in time to see Leo sweep the legs out from under a bandit who had tried to grab at Dill. Leo's spear came around and stabbed point-down into the hostage taker's chest several times before a crackle and a thump announced the firing of a projectile at point blank range.

The shell out of Leo's spear tip shattered the remaining aura and speared through into the man's chest. A small circular hole was the only evidence of the impact, and the bandit just twitched a few times before falling still.

"No!" shouted Vernal reaching for her weapons, but before she had a chance to move Jet flattened her into the dirt and put a knee in the small of her back. One rough hand grabbed Vernal's chin and pulled, while the other grabbed the back of her skull and pushed to torque her neck around. Jet stopped at a critical point just before damage began, holding Vernal's head in an iron grip as the girl groaned through her teeth and struggled to free herself.

"Stop this Raven!" Jet shouted. "Call them back or I'll break her neck faster than you can make a move. I swear to Oum. Do it!"

For a tense second nothing happened. Weapons were drawn and every face turned towards the bandit leader, waiting for her word on what to do. Raven just stood there calmly, arms crossed as with a vague look of disappointment on her face. "Stand down."

As weapons were slammed back into holsters in frustration, Jet kept his hold on Vernal. "Leo, Dill, grab the packs and head out down the road. Olive stick with them. I'll catch up." The woman underneath him grimaced and struggled, but a little more pressure had her go limp as she cried out in pain. "I'll release her once they're safely away."

"Let them through," Raven nodded.

Leo grabbed the two packs, slinging one to Dill. He placed the civilians in front of him and guided them out of the circle as bandits reluctantly parted in front of the three.

Tense moments slid by as Jet waited for his friends to get far enough away, assuming Leo would be running them as fast as he could.

After enough time had passed Jet released Vernal and stood back quickly. The girl shot up suddenly as if to try something, but after the speedy movement she decided better of it and cradled her head and neck instead. "I won't forget this, Jet," Raven warned ominously.

"And I hope you won't forget your men started it," Jet shot back, picking up his shotgun. "See you never, Raven. Have a nice life."

"See you later," Raven replied more politely, though her face remained impassive. The circle parted once again to allow Jet out.

As soon as he was clear Jet clicked into a sprint, weaving back and forth in case someone sent a parting shot his way. Once around a corner and out of sight, Jet slowed down only slightly as he pursued the rest of the group. In just a couple minutes he had caught up, coming back down to a brisk walk.

"How are we doing dude?" asked Leo.

"We'll be okay for now. They can't pursue by vehicle until they flip their bait car, which should take them a little while. We need to keep moving though," Jet replied.

Dill, who was struggling to keep up with the pace, glanced over at the hunters. "You don't think she'll keep her end of the deal?"

"Raven agreed to let us go, which she did. We never agreed she wouldn't come after us. I'm assuming she will, as it would be easier to finish us off than relocate her whole camp. We need to keep moving."

The thought of the bandits coming back spurred the group on, pushing them to keep up a brisk pace. Jet took the bag off of Dill's back so he wouldn't have to carry the thirty pound weight on his back, but even so the stamina of the hunters far outstripped their two companions. After about half an hour at a jog, Olive began to show her fatigue.

At first she would stumble, tripping over her own feet and little bumps in the trail, but as time progressed she began silently dropping back.

"Hold up," said Dill. "Olive's too tired to keep up this pace. We need to take a rest or slow down."

Jet shook his head. "We can't afford to. I want to generate as much distance as we can. Leo! Can you take two?"

"Yeah my dude. I've got you." With an efficiency borne of practice, Leo took Jet's bag and repacked as much as he could into his own. Once that was done a set of straps and rope secured Jet's shotgun and pack to his own bag. "Good to go man."

"Alright Olive, up we go." Jet hooked an arm around the back of one her legs and grabbed a wrist, hauling her up onto his shoulders in a fireman's carry.

Contrary to Jet's expectations, Olive made no protestations over the sudden movement. The group took off again and it surely couldn't have been comfortable for the girl, but still she made no noise, simply accepting the punishment without a sound.

Even with the two hunters weighted down, it was Dill who gave out first a little less than an hour later. He bent over, clutching at his side that was soaked with sweat. "Oum-damn it you two. I really can't keep up. I need a break if we're going to go on."

"Yeah, we'll take a break for a second." Jet gently placed Olive on the ground as Dill collapsed down to the dirt of the road, stretching his arms and legs. "Leo, could you pull the map out?"

The blonde set down his pack and dug the map out from the shovel pocket. He set it on the ground and spread it out, weighing down the corners to keep the gusting wind from blowing it away.

Jet's finger traced the map as he attempted to ascertain where they were. "Where were we when we stopped?"

"About here." Leo stabbed his finger down, highlighting a point on the path. "See, there's the bend we were heading around when we ran into the bait car."

"Okay, yeah, that seems right. That would be…" Jet ran a quick estimate on the distance, guessing the time of travel. "About four and a half hours in?"

"That seems about right dude. I think it was a little over two hours from when I started driving, and you drove two ish?"

"Yep. So if that's where we were, how far have we run?"

"Well, I know the last turnoff we passed was for the frontier town Milan, and that's… here. So we're at least that far," Leo reasoned.

"But that was twenty minutes ago. I figure we've come to here by now."

"Why's that my dude?"

"Well, we were giving her about an eight minute a mile pace at the end there, which in about twenty minutes kinda puts us in this stretch. Plus we're lined up roughly right between these bluffs and Horwaith Peak here."

"Lovely name."

"I know. But take the angle and check it out." Jet stood and pointed out the bluffs and the mountain peak, showing how their relative position in real life corresponded to the map. "You agree?"

"Yeah. Solid work dude."

"You guys are crazy," gasped Dill, still recovering from his run. "You two aren't even out of breath and have figured out where we are in about a minute flat without even using a scroll. That's nuts."

"Aura's a hell of a drug," Jet laughed without much humor. "We've been doing this a long time too. But how are you holding up?"

"Well, that run has murdered me. I've got stitches in my side and cramps in my calves," he complained.

"Mentally, Dill. Where are you at?"

The broad shoulders of the civilian raised in an exaggerated shrug. "Honestly? I have no idea. I'm not surprised you guys are chill because it sounds like you two have dealt with this stuff before, but I'm a little surprised I'm not freaking out. I mean, we just got jacked by bandits and you killed six people back there even if they deserved it. Plus now we're on foot in Grimm territory. It's all too crazy man. Maybe it just hasn't sunk in yet."

"Okay. Well, if anything changes tell us, okay?" Jet asked.

"Sure thing."

With one person taken care of, Jet turned to Olive. "And how about you Olive? Are you okay?"

The brilliant young medical mind sat slumped, fingers drawing chemical equations idly in the dirt. Her gaze was fixed on something far away, and she gave no indication of having heard the question.

"Olive?" Jet asked with more concern, stretching out a hand towards her.

"I lost my glasses," Olive said suddenly in a flat tone.

"Sorry about that," apologized Jet. "But we had to get away fast. You should have said something; we would have put them in a pocket to keep them safe. Aside from that how are you doing?"

"They probably fell off somewhere back there. Don't worry, I'll get them." With that Olive stood up and began walking unsteadily off in the direction they had come from.

Jet and Leo exchanged worried glances before the latter jumped up and jogged over to Olive. With a firm hand he guided her back to the group.

"This is the wrong way," she complained softly. "They're that way. That way." A wild finger gestured back down the path.

"I know dudette. But we need to get you some new glasses. That'll be this way, okay?"

Olive nodded and allowed herself to be lead back to the group. "I suppose. But it better be soon, because I'll have a hard time reading my research without them." She slumped down again and stared off into the distance, soon in the same trace she had started from.

"What the hell is wrong with her?" whispered Dill, visibly shaken.

"Shock, probably. She's not handling this as well as you," Jet guessed. "Poor thing. It's not surprising. It's been a hell of a day."

"And will she be okay?"

"I can't say for certain. She's the medical genius, not me. I think she just needs more time to process it, but time is something we don't have. Drink some water and take a few more minutes because I want to put on some more mileage before we set up camp." Dill looked entirely dissatisfied with that answer, but realized there wasn't much more Jet could provide him.

True to his word, not five minutes had gone by before Jet roused everyone and they set off again much like before. Olive was jostled around silently on Jet's shoulders while Leo carried the equipment and Dill ran on his own. This time however, the jog was sedate enough that Dill could keep up with the two aura-powered individuals.

As they ran on both of the hunters scanned the trees that hemmed in the dirt road, intently searching for an area that would be safe or defensible enough to stay in. After several false alarms where the two determined that the area was unsatisfactory, they finally came to rest in a thickly wooded area hemmed in by the bluffs.

"Hey Dill. Watch over Olive and try to help her out if you can. We'll set up camp and then we've got some things to talk about," Jet directed.

Dill nodded, still recovering from the jog. "Yeah. C'mere Olive," he said, sitting down with her and drawing her into an embrace. "You're okay. You're safe."

"I lost my glasses," she muttered.

"I know, I know. But we made it out okay," Dill soothed.

Leo and Jet silently set up the two tents against the cliff wall, arranging them so that they fit in a slight alcove. It would mean that they could only be attacked from one direction, making it an easy location to defend. Once that was done and the backpacks were placed under a small tarp Jet made his way back to Olive and Dill.

"How's she doing?" Jet asked softly.

"She seems… way too… emotionless. And is totally fixated on her glasses. I don't like it Jet. It's really starting to worry me," Dill whispered back.

"Don't be," Jet said. "As cold as it may seem, this is one of the better possibilities."

"Her being totally out of it is better?" Dill said indignantly, drawing Olive closer.

Jet sighed and lowered himself onto the ground. "Dill, what's the biggest threat to us right now?"

"The bandits coming back to finish us off?" he replied uncertainly.

Scratching at his thick beard, Jet shook his head. "That's a risk, sure, but we're pretty well hidden here. It's a very low chance. What else might there be?"

"Well, the…" Dill glanced furtively around, as if saying the name might summon one to his side. "...the Grimm?"

"Yeah, the Grimm. They're our biggest concern. And what draws them in?" Slowly Jet was guiding Dill so he would realize the answer for himself.

"Uhh, fear, right?"

"Well, that's one thing, sure. It's just any negative emotion really; fear, hate, sadness, etcetera. But it's like you said; Olive is out of it, and that's keeping her calm. Her emotions aren't drawing Grimm in. Leo and I are very good at controlling our emotion and we're not particularly worried. You're handling yourself really well too, but I can't have you starting to fear for her. You understand?"

"Yeah, I guess, but I can't just shut off my emotions like that. I'm still going to be worried for her," Dill protested.

"No, I get it," Jet reassured him. "I've got my own things I'm worried about. They key to managing it is instead of letting it sit and fester, think of things that are in your control that you can do to help or manage it."

Dill thought about it for a minute, trying to work out how to apply Jet's advice. "Okay. I'll do my best," he promised.

"Good man." Jet clapped him on the back and stood back up. "I'm going to be right over here talking to Leo, okay? Holler if anything changes."

"I will."

Leo looked up from the supplies as he heard Jet's soft footsteps approaching. Without more than a slight groan Jet flopped down, taking a moment to close his eyes and compose himself. He listened in to the rustling murmur of the pines as they were blown around in the wind, a sound not unlike the rhythmic hiss of waves rolling in on the beach shores of Vacuo.

"How are we on supplies Leo?" Jet asked without opening his eyes.

"It's alright my dude. Water we're good on; we have about eight liters in the bladders, and there are purification drops in the first aid kit. There are six food packages plus some dried stuff, which is enough for all of us to eat tonight and twice tomorrow," Leo reported.

"So three meals?" Jet rubbed at his temples, feeling a slight headache coming on. "And could you pass me some water?"

"Yes and yes, my dude." Leo handed Jet a bladder of water that he sipped out of, trying to relieve his dehydration.

"And if we go halves on the meals, one meal a day?"

"So all four of us split a single package? That's five days if you count tonight. We wouldn't have much energy if we did though. Those things have a lot of calories, but not split four ways."

"I was thinking more of you guys splitting them three ways," Jet corrected.

Leo hummed thoughtfully, having spent enough time with his teammate to know what he was planning. "Are you thinking of running it to Amin-Kara or whatever and bringing back help?"

"Yeah," Jet agreed. "That's what I was thinking. How far is it from where we're camped now to the town?"

"Nearest I can figure it's somewhere in the range of thirty to thirty-five miles."

"Alright. I could run that in two and a half hours. Probably quicker, but let's take the worst case scenario. Then let's say their bureaucracy is a mess and I can't get them to agree to help for an hour. Then half an hour back in a vehicle. You're looking at maybe four-ish hours on your own taking care of those two," Jet reasoned.

"I can do that," Leo nodded. "And if four hours is your safe minimum, what's your maximum?"

"Give it eight hours. If I'm not back in that time frame, I've either been killed, seriously injured, or they locked me up. At any rate, I won't be coming back at that point." The topic was morbid, but a necessary one; it wouldn't do to have Leo waiting forever for help that would never come. "It's still early afternoon, so if I go now I could possibly be back before nightfall."

"And the minimal rations?"

"If I'm right, they might be a little hungry and that's all. But I don't trust Raven, and worst comes to worst you have food to last you longer. It just makes sense to ration it any way you slice it."

Leo acquiesced solemnly, understanding the risk Jet was taking. "Alright dude. I can take care of them for as long as you need. Are you going to explain this to Dill?"

"Yeah. Just give me a minute." Jet nursed the container of lukewarm water for a little while longer before clambering to his feet. "Toss me my shotgun, will you?"

The former hunter snatched the tossed weapon out of the air and walked back down to Dill. "Hey, Dill. We need to talk real quick, and then you can get back to Olive, okay?"

"Alright." Taking one last glance to make sure she would be okay, Dill stood and came over to Jet. "What's up?"

"Me and Leo have been talking, and we've come to a decision," Jet began.

"Okay." Dill shuffled around expectantly, hands in pockets.

"Instead of all of us taking another one to two days to hike to the town I'm going to run to Amin-Kara and bring back help in a vehicle. That can be done in about four hours, and then we can be out of here."

"Leo will be staying here with us?"

"Yeah, he'll take care of you. But if I'm going to run that distance, I'm not going to be carrying my shotgun."

"You're not?" Dill said in surprise, eyebrows furrowing together. "But what happens if you run into a Grimm? Won't you need it then?"

"I don't expect to run into any Grimm. Have we seen any so far on this trip?" Dill shook his head no in reply to that question. "Exactly, and I expect that trend to continue. Even if I do, I can just outrun them."

"You can outrun Grimm?" Dill raised an eyebrow and crossed his arms. "That I'd love to see."

"Your concern is touching, but I'll be fine," Jet deadpanned. "But since I'm leaving this baby here, I think it would behoove me to teach you how to use it."

"Seriously?" Dill asked.

"Dead serious," Jet smiled, vaguely regretting his choice of words. He pumped the slide back and forth, catching each shell that was spit out of the chamber. "Now, I don't know how much you know, so a real quick lesson on safety. Always treat a gun like it's loaded. That means never point it at someone else or 'sweep' them with it by moving the end of the gun across them."

The hunter demonstrated what he meant on a nearby tree as if it was a person. "So when you're turning with it, have it pointed down at the ground and keep your finger off the trigger until you're ready to shoot. That way we should never have an accident where someone else is hit. Okay?"

"I understand," Dill nodded.

"Good. This is especially important because this gun has no safety, so you are the safety. Now, for shooting." Jet handed Dill the unloaded gun. "The pump is pulled back right now, so look into the chamber and confirm there's no shell in there."

Dill turned the gun on its side and squinted. "It's clear."

"Good. Now push the pump forward and hold it like you're going to shoot it." The gun came up to Dill's shoulder and the civilian leaned forward slightly into the weapon. "Good. Keep the butt tight to your shoulder and your cheek tight to this part of the stock. Your feet should be about shoulder width apart."

"Like this?" Dill asked.

"Good, looks good. Now for aiming, don't even try to focus on the bead at the end. Your eye should be lined up with the barrel, so you almost just look where you want it to fire."

Dill followed Jet's instructions dutifully, taking aim at a variety of leaves and stumps as practice. Once Jet was satisfied with his progress, he moved on to the next step. "Alright Dill. Take aim at that tree there." Shuffling around, Dill lined up the long dead pine that had begun to resemble a skeleton. "Okay, now pull the trigger."

The new shooters head came off the stock and turned to Jet for confirmation. "Are you sure?"

"I am. Dry firing is a good way to get used to it without ammunition. Now, take aim again and pull back smoothly on the trigger until you hear the firing pin fall."

Jet readjusted, assuming his firing position and aiming at the tree. His finger closed slowly around the trigger until a metallic _click_ was heard.

"That's the firing pin falling. If it were loaded, the shell would have fired."

Jet walked Dill through a few more exercises and then had him load and unload the weapon. Dill fumbled through it the first few times, but quickly grew used to it. Finally after all this was finished, Jet judged him to be proficient enough to use it in an emergency.

"And I do mean for emergencies only, understand?"

"Got it," Dill nodded.

"Good. I'm going go put it under the tarp over there, so you know where it'll be." As Dill returned to caring for Olive, Jet trudged back to Leo and placed it next to the ammunition.

"The dude looks like a natural," Leo commented from where he was busily camouflaging the tents.

"I'm not surprised. Dill's pretty athletic, and his hunter brother has probably taken him shooting once or twice. Anyway, I'm going to go out for my jog now." Jet dug around in the water bottles until he found one with about two liters of water in it, securing it tightly to the belt from which his hunting knife still hung.

"Alright bro. Stay safe and I'll see you in a few," Leo called.

"Same. Dill! Listen to Leo while I'm gone."

"You got it Jet."

With that the former hunter left the camp to head out on his own. Jet pushed through prickly tree branches and scratchy bushes for a moment until he came back out in the ditch next to the road, clambering up to rest on the relatively smooth surface.

Jet set off, feet dropping one in front of the other in an ever increasing patter. Soon he was moving at a pace that not even a top marathon runner could hope to maintain.

Even so, it was barely a struggle for Jet; it reminded him of the brutal training he has put himself through in the last two years to regain his former strength and stamina. He knew he could maintain this pace for far longer than he needed, and pushed himself a little faster.

A familiar rhythm began to develop. Exhale for four steps, inhale for four steps. Rinse and repeat for an agonizing eternity. Jet pounded along, focusing on his breathing and pace above all else.

It was mostly true what he had said to Dill; he could outrun any Grimm that tried to chase after him. Sure an Ursa or Beowulf could outstrip him in the short term, but after more than a hundred yards the Ursai would fall away and the Beowulfs would follow not long after.

Nevermores, on the other hand, would pose a significant threat. With little more than a knife to defend himself, hiding would be his only option - and with an imposed time limit that really wasn't much of a choice.

During the course of the whole trip, Jet ran into no terrestrial Grimm and was able to avoid the gaze of the few avian variants that flew overhead. Call it luck, call it skill, or call it a keen intuition developed by long stretches spent in the wilds, but whatever it was Jet arrived at the outskirts of Amin-Kara ahead of schedule.

It was then, just under a mile away, that the trap door dropped out from under Jet and he felt his spirits sink. Despite the killer pace he had been setting, he pushed himself faster in a race against the inevitable. He hoped he was wrong.

The myriad of circling birds told him he wasn't.

He passed through the gates to the town which stood open, a cheery and well painted archway with the town's name inscribed at odds with them absolute chaos revealed within. Jet stumbled hopelessly onto once smooth streets that were pitted with bullet scars marring their once smooth appearance.

Some buildings stood perfectly fine. Their shutters were flung wide open, and shops looked like they were ready to accept customers like would wander down the high street any second. Then, for no particular reason, just feet away the opposing buildings would be blown apart and pitted with holes ranging from bullet to Ursa. Some had burned to the ground, leaving only black skeletons still standing.

Jet pulled off his t-shirt and soaked part of it in water from his canteen, wrapping the wet cloth around his face and tying it off. The damp cotton served as a mask to protect against the pathogens and the smell created by the corpses scattered around.

They were all in similar stages of decay; the skin was various shades of purple and yellow, and the muscles and skin had already shrunk down to where the bodies looked skeletal. Jet just strode over them all as he searched for the Ranger's office. The death didn't unduly bother him, sad as it was; he'd seen enough of it. It was only the living that mattered now.

After half an hour of wandering the streets, Jet finally found the reason his search had proved so fruitless when he spotted a rack of Atlesian rifles sticking out of a pile of burned rubble he must have passed half a dozen times. The once pristine white synthetic was now an ugly bubbly brown having been torched by the heat of the fire.

"No," was all Jet managed wearily. "Really?"

The hunter kicked through the blackened timbers and ash covered brick before he began sifting through the wreckage with his hands. His aura protected him from all kinds sharp edges as he dragged out another body.

This corpse wore traditional Atlesian military armor that was now melded to him like a grotesque death mask. In the parts that weren't discolored black and burnt Jet could clearly see olive green and gold. The uniform and colors of a Ranger. The steel cell door that the corpse had been laying on only confirmed what Jet already knew; the destroyed building was the Ranger's station.

No station, no antenna. No antenna, no radio. No radio, no way to contact the outside world for help.

Frustration welled within Jet until he contain it no longer.

"Oum-damnit!" he roared, tossing the body as easily as a doll. "Fucking Raven. Of course she would send me to a town she had already raided. I'm so fucking stupid. Shit!" The spittle flying out of Jet's mouth was caught on the inside of his impromptu filter as he continued his tirade. "Damn it all to hell!"

Negativity pumped out of the hunter until something took notice. A creep wormed its way out of a bakery down the street, finally distracted from its feast of corpses by the promise of fresh meat tinged with misery.

The dinosaur like beast screeched and charged the lone human, confident in its victory.

"And then there's this fucker," Jet shouted, wrenching a mangled rifle free from its stand with a crunch of plastic. "Come on then. Let's have at it."

Just as the creep reached him, twisting its head to try and bite him in half, Jet sidestepped and rammed the barrel of the gun into its throat.

The beast staggered and wailed as it tried to dislodge the metal instrument from its neck to no avail. Instead it's breathy cries rattled through the gun as well as its mouth to make a mournful metallic sound like an organ being slowly murdered.

Jet stalked over and wedged his knife in between two spinal plates below the skull, following up by hitting the hilt with the heel of his hand. The blade sank in deep with an audible crack, severing the spinal column and ending the beasts life. As the body began to decompose the drifting smoke made it look as if the fire that had burned down the Ranger station had been rekindled.

"Get a hold of yourself Jet," the hunter growled to himself. "Emotion will just bring Grimm down on you. Focus on what you can do."

It took a few deep breaths, but Jet managed to submerge his emotion beneath a layer of necessity. Searching for supplies was out of the question; Raven would have stripped the place clean, and it would take too long to find the odd item she had missed. The sooner he could get back to Leo and the group however, the sooner they could make plans and figure out what the next move was.

"Oum-damnit," Jet whispered as he slumped into a porch swing that was still standing. The water bottle came back out and he drank carefully from it, not wanting to put too much in his stomach.

He had a long run back ahead of him after all.

When Jet arrived back at the camp it was not the triumphant affair everyone was hoping for. He walked in silently, soaked in sweat that ran in tracks through the ash and dirt coating his exposed skin.

Leo immediately nodded when he saw Jet, digging into one of the bags. "You're just in time for dinner my dude. We can talk about it over-" he paused to reference a sealed bag of food. "- rice, black beans, and spicy sausage. In the meantime, there's a creek across the road plus two hundred yards or so. Here's your change of clothes."

"Thanks," Jet whispered in appreciation. "I'll only be fifteen minutes or so."

"Sweet. That should be enough time to get the water boiling."

Jet stumbled back in the direction that Leo had guided him, crossing the road and plunging into the trees on the opposite side. After a minute or two of walking, the runner came across the stream.

It was about twenty feet across, with clear water bubbling happily over the stones under the surface. Jet stripped off all of his clothes, leaving only his shoes, belt, and spare articles on a nearby boulder. The rest he drug into the water and placed under a large rock where they would stay for years to come.

Grabbing handfuls of dirt and sand Jet proceeded to scrub his skin raw with the coarse soap before letting it wash away in the cool mountain stream. Once sufficiently clean, Jet climbed out and shook himself dry like a dog before putting on the fresh clothes. He was still wet, but it was a small price to pay for being clean.

Even though he was ready to head back, Jet took a few moments to compose himself before he headed back. It wouldn't do to show his negative emotions.

While Jet was cleaning up, Leo was fending off questions from Dill while attempting to teach him how to cook in the outdoors.

"What happened?" Dill asked expectantly as Leo poured water into a pot.

"There wasn't help available and he had to return. I don't know any more than you my dude," Leo replied. "We'll have to wait for Jet to tell us more."

Dill opened his mouth for another question, but Leo forestalled him. "In the meantime let's boil some water using a little trick I learned from some Rangers during my career. Check this out, it's gonna be wicked awesome. So, we need heat but we can't start a fire, because the smoke and light will give away our position. So what do we do?"

Dill sat back on his haunches as Leo dug into a cargo pocket. "I have a feeling you're about to tell me."

"Bam!" exclaimed Leo, whipping out several shells for his spear. "Dust bullets. More specifically, fire rounds. Now, I lay them out in the dirt, and…" With two swift motions Leo hacked the tips of the bullets with the edge of a knife, causing them to glow a deep red and crackle menacingly. "... instant heat source my dude. Now we put the water on and wait."

Dill waited patiently through the demonstration, but as soon as the pot went on the heat he jumped right back into questioning. "So help isn't coming?"

"Again dude, I don't know. We'll have to wait for Jet."

"But if help isn't coming what do we do next?"

"We'll discuss it when Jet gets back from his bath."

"And what about Olive? She needs help. If we don't get her to a doctor-"

"She'll be okay, dude. Just chill out man. You're getting all worked up over questions I can't answer," Leo interrupted.

"Yeah, got it," Dill grumbled.

Thankfully for the young man, he wouldn't have to wait more than a few more minutes until Jet reappeared in different garb.

"There we go," Leo said. "The man of the hour. Now that you don't smell of death, let's eat."

"What-" Dill began, before Leo smacked him lightly on the back of the head.

"You can wait five more minutes. Don't pester him dude; he's had a long day. He'll tell us everything when he's ready. Bring Olive over here so we can get some food into her too."

Jet nodded his appreciation, crouching by the boiling pot as Dill busied himself with coaxing the girl over from where she sat by the tents. Leo poured hot water into one of the bags, sealing the top and shaking it up. A minute later when all four had gathered round bowls and spoons were distributed, then the reheated meal was split up evenly.

"Are you sure I can have this?" Olive asked softly. "I can't really read the ingredients without my glasses. I'm allergic to hazelnuts and shellfish."

Leo made a show of reading the packaging to humor her, then nodded. "You're good dudette. Eat as much as you can, okay?"

Olive nodded and mechanically began the process of eating.

"So, what happened?" Dill asked, unable to help himself.

Jet just gestured to Olive. "I'll tell you after she's done and moved away. She doesn't need to hear this in her state."

Olive didn't even act like she heard him, instead downing her portion quickly before looking around in confusion. "Where are my glasses?"

"I think I saw them by the tents. Why don't you look around there?" Leo suggested. Olive nodded and walked over to the tents before sitting down in front of them, running her hands through the grass like it was going to do something.

"Are you sure she'll be okay?" Dill asked worriedly.

"Yeah," Leo nodded. "She'll be okay."

"I guess," Dill said with no small level of uncertainty.

"You wanted to know what happened?" Dill looked up as Jet spoke. The civilian almost immediately jumped on the opportunity to get the information that would satisfy his curiosity, but there was something in Jet's voice and expression that slowed him down.

"Yeah."

"Not much, I'm afraid." Jet picked slowly at his meal, eating around the sausages. "I ran down there in a bit over two hours, and it turns out that the town's been abandoned for a while. No machines, no way to get a message out. So I came back."

"How bad is it?" Dill asked in the silence that followed. "I mean our situation. Now that we don't have help from Amin-Kara. And don't sugarcoat it."

"Not too bad, Dill. Of course it would have been far preferable if we were already headed home, but nothing we can do about that. We're just going to have to stay out here a little longer. It won't be comfortable, but it's doable. We'll get out of here just fine, you'll see," Jet smiled reassuringly. "If I seemed down it's just because I had hoped we'd be leaving already. I'm just frustrated we wasted part of a day, that's all."

"You going to eat those sausage my dude?" Leo asked, gesturing with his spork.

"Get the hell away from my sausage," grumbled Jet as he swatted at Leo's hand. "They're my favorite part of this crap."

"Then why aren't you eating them?"

"I'm saving the best for last Leo. Now stop - stop!" Jet danced around with bowl held high, but soon switched strategies as Leo's almost half a foot height advantage gave him no trouble reaching the food. "Stop it!"

"Alright my dude," Leo chuckled. "But Dill's already done with his. What's taking you so long?"

"There's nothing wrong with savoring," Jet argued, still taking up a position warily on the opposite side of the pot.

"But let's be real; it's suspicious when you're savoring freeze-dried food with all the flavor content of mildly spiced cardboard."

Their bickering went on for a few minutes which, oddly enough, relaxed Dill. Their idle jabs and almost brotherly rivalry to verbally one-up the other had become a staple entertainment piece in the short time they had been reunited. That levity had been lost after the bandits had attacked and the fact that it was coming back signaled a return to some semblance of normalcy. To the untrained civilian it was a sign of their confidence that everything would turn out okay in the end.

"Damn, I just had a depressing thought." Leo scratched at the back of his neck vigorously, reminding Dill of a large golden retriever.

"Oh yeah?" Jet queried.

"We never got the protection plan dude," the blonde lamented.

"For what?"

"The SUV."

"Why would you need a protection plan for your SUV?" Jet said bemused. "Like, what good would that do? 'Oh no, I can't buff out the scratches because it's gone now.' Really?"

"No my dude." Leo put his head in his hands and dragged them down his face, comically pulling his eyes wide open. "That was a rental."

Jet's own eyes almost bugged out of his head as he coughed to dislodge a chunk of food that had become stuck in surprise. As the hacking stopped, the former hunter's lips twitched even as tears ran down his face. "You mean-"

"Yeah."

Dill couldn't help but laugh as Jet burst into guffaws, slapping a knee and bending over double. Leo crossed his arms and tried to look offended. "Really Jet? I'm going to have to pay for that whole thing, and you know how they charge ridiculous premiums."

"But don't you have lien for days?" As soon as Jet said that an even bigger grin broke out on his face and his laughter increased to the point where he was wheezing silently and clapping his hands. "Your mini guitar! It's still in there!"

"You've got to be kidding me dude," Leo groaned. "I paid twelve-hundred lien for that."

"Well, at least you still have your precious spear," chortled Jet. "Glad your priorities are still straight."

"I'd never forget her." Leo hugged his spear close to him and patted the shaft. "She's my baby."

"How does it work?" Dill cut in curiously.

"It's a spear," deadpanned Leo. "I poke people with the pointy end and it hurts. That's how it works."

Dill rolled his eyes so hard Jet feared they might detach. "I could gather that. But you've fired something out of it. Tell me about the whole thing and how it does that."

"Aight," Leo nodded.

He fiddled around with his spear, ejecting a round out of a panel mid way up the shaft and handing it over for Dill's inspection. The tough grey piece of metal was weighty, rolling around in his fingers.

"It's a ferrous tungsten projectile," Jet volunteered. "There's a railgun built into the shaft to accelerate the projectile that shoots out the tip."

"It's not a railgun," corrected Leo. "It's a coil gun."

"Same difference."

"It's really not my dude..."

Dill interrupted the two before they could start another one of their quarrels. "Isn't that… dangerous?"

"Well, yeah," Leo admitted bluntly. "There's a hell of a lot of electricity flowing under the surface of this thing, but if it's any consolation I just came up with the idea. I didn't engineer it bro."

"I'm relieved to hear it," Dill chuckled. "How do you not fire it by accident when you're spinning it around and stuff?"

"The trigger takes a hella amount of force to pull. Actually, here."

Leo tossed his spear to Dill, who barely caught the long metal pole. The spear was a dull grey, with blue and bronze pinstripe designs wrapping around the shaft and flowering onto the head. It was thicker than Leo expected too, but it didn't look disproportionate due to its almost eight foot length.

"It's really freaking heavy," grunted Dill. "How on Remnant do you swing this thing so quickly?"

"Aura my dude," Leo laughed. "But you feel that block that sticks out a little down there? Yeah, there. That's the trigger. Now dude, try and depress it." Dull looked up for confirmation and got an expectant nod back. "It's unloaded and the coils are off. Go for it."

Dill stretched his arms and flexed his hands, earning some laughs from the two huntsmen as he stretched out and warmed up in preparation. Hefting the spear, Dill grabbed the trigger with one hand and squeezed. And squeezed. And finally added a second hand to the mix before the trigger was depressed with a metallic clack.

"And that's how I keep it from going off accidentally." Leo took his spear back, chuckling at the amount of exertion it took for Dill. "I - hold up."

Leo jumped to his feet and hustled over to Olive, who had stopped staring off into the distance and had begun to walk off into the trees. He gently turned her around, and when she argued and resisted, Leo just picked her up and carried her back to the gathering around the unlit campfire.

"Put me down, Leo!" she complained, beating at his chest ineffectually. "I am perfectly capable of walking on my own."

For a moment Dill's spirits rose, but his hope that Olive had somehow mentally recuperated was soon dashed. Slowly through her vacant gaze and the conversation slowly turning back towards her glasses it became clear she was still in shock.

"Dill, would you take her to the tent and stay with her? You two go to bed," Leo requested. "I think… I think that'd maybe be best for now."

"The sun's still up," Dill protested mildly.

"It's going down soon, and it'll be easier for you to get settled in before it's dark. Besides, I don't want to have to worry about where she is at night dude."

"Alright."

Dill guided Olive away and sat inside the two man tent with the front flap open as they got themselves situated. While they were occupied with that, Leo flopped down next to Jet. "You okay?"

Jet nodded, pushing the remainder of his bowl over to Leo. The rice and beans had been completely cleaned out, but the sausages sat in a little pile untouched. "Here."

"Thanks," Leo murmured as he picked at the meat with his fingers. "What really happened at Amin-Kara?"

"Of course you saw through that," Jet chuckled darkly. "Well, turns out Raven raided the place; about a week ago in my estimation. The radio tower and Ranger station was totally destroyed, so there's no way to get a signal out regardless."

"Any survivors?" asked Leo.

"No, there were not. Some were killed by Raven, but the majority were torn up by the Grimm. No people, no supplies, no help." Jet picked a handful of grass and slowly released it blade by blade, letting the green stalks drift away in the wind. "Not from Amin-Kara, at any rate."

"Damn it," Leo growled. "I don't know what I expected from Raven. I just… damn her." Leo shifted uncomfortably, massaging a knot in the back of his leg. "Damn this day was fucked," he whispered almost silently.

The two took the moment of silence and relative peace to reflect on the day. Jet slid over to a patch of the waning sun and soaked in it, letting the heat diffuse comfortably throughout his body. His partner soon moved over to sit next to him cross legged, holding his head in his hands.

To any passerby it would have looked as if the two were perfectly relaxed after a hard day of work. Those who knew them better, or were perhaps more attentive, would have seen the tension in their muscles and the occasional shivers that wracked Leo's body despite the warm sun.

"Monty-fucking-Oum," Leo whispered as he trembled slightly, ten minutes into their silence. "I feel like I'm going to throw up dude."

"If you're going to go off in the woods so Dill and Olive don't see."

"I will Swanny." The blonde breathed deeply in through his nose and out through his mouth to try and quell his nausea. "It's so tiring acting like everything is peachy just so we don't upset them and draw the Grimm down on us. But at least it was something to do, dude. Now I just can't stop thinking about those bandits."

"Let's be honest though, it felt good to pretend like things were normal. I honestly had to laugh at your vehicular misfortune," Jet smiled wanly. Leo returned the gesture and had barely looked away before his friend spoke again. "I'm sorry Leo," Jet apologized.

"For what?" his teammate asked through gritted teeth. "I know what you're thinking. But I chose to come on this of my own free will Swanny. You didn't force me into it."

Jet didn't even bother denying that's what he had been feeling poorly about. Leo was right; the circumstances were outside of his control.

"Damn, killing people doesn't get any easier no matter how many times you do it. Or how much they deserve it, or if it was in self-defense or not. Oum-damn it dude, I wish I had your semblance-"

"Don't," Jet frowned, cutting him off. "Don't even go there. It's more of a curse than it is blessing."

"I know," Leo sighed. "But I've got to deal with this for a little while until I can pack it away in my mind to be worked out in my nightmares for the next few months. Being able to forget-"

"Being forced to forget," snapped Jet. "Forced. And it's not like I don't know what I've done. I just can't remember the people I've killed. It cuts a hell of a lot out of my psychological trauma but it leaves its own type of wound."

"Sorry," muttered Leo. "I know I wouldn't really want it dude." He sighed heavily, resigning himself to his torture. "I guess the only thing to do is to figure out how we'll get those two out safely."

The sun set slowly as the two tried to come to terms with the day and come up with a plan to attack their current situation. The orange and lavender hues were even more stunning and radiant, as if the universe were attempting to compensate for the tragedies with an even more beautiful display.

It wasn't a fair trade-off.

Neither hunter appreciated its passing, only mourning the loss of warmth that came with the darkness. Instead they settled first on a plan, and then on a watch schedule before Jet retired to sleep off his double-marathon. Leo just soaked in the darkness, shutting away the killings in his mind. The night felt more appropriate anyway.

 **A/N: Oh boy! Psychological ramifications, people to protect, everything going poorly. Can it go even more wrong?**

 ***author cackles***

 **Oh my sweet summer child…**

 **Anyway, reviews are appreciated! Hope you guys enjoyed, and see you on the flip side!**


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